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The Constitution of the Boston College Entrepreneur Society
November 2nd, 1999

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this organization shall be known as the Boston College Entrepreneur Society, or more commonly recognized as BCES. Hereinafter it will be referred to as BCES.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

BCES will provide the Boston College community with a forum for exploring all aspects of successful entrepreneurship. BCES has a twofold focus. Firstly, to give students the opportunity to learn about the world of entrepreneurship and the processes associated with it. Secondly, to inform students about the dynamics of working in a startup environment.

The purpose of BCES events will be to involve interested and enthusiastic students in the entrepreneurial process. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to speakers, mock-business activities, and other entrepreneurial-related activities. BCES may work in conjunction with other student organizations to co-sponsor events or meetings, and to better facilitate the needs and interests of its members and the Boston College community at large. Other student organizations that BCES my collaborate with include, but are not limited to: the Boston College Investment Club, Careers in Management, and UGBC. In addition, BCES will maintain a web site on the BC server that will display past, present, and upcoming events as well as general interest information about entrepreneurship.

As a Boston College student organization, BCES will not establish any business entity of any kind. BCES will not compete with any Boston College organization for profit or otherwise. The purpose of BCES will be to inform and stimulate students that are interested in the field of entrepreneurship. However, this does not exclude any BCES officer or member from personally establishing his/her own venture, provided that it is not affiliated with BCES in any way.

ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS

Section A: Eligibility
Any full-time or part-time Boston College undergraduate or graduate student who is interested in entrepreneurship is welcomed to be a member.

Section B: Active Membership
A member is considered "active" by regularly attending 50% of BCES’s general meetings and participating in 50% of BCES’s events for that academic year. Another aspect of being an active member is paying dues when applicable. An initial list of members is composed at the beginning of the year by combining active members from the previous year and new signees.

Section C: Voting Rights
One vote is extended to each active member of the undergraduate class.

Section D: Non-Discriminatory Clause
There shall be no discrimination against any individual due to race, age, religion, color, sex, national origin, mental or medical handicaps, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or Vietnam Veteran status.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

Section A: Quantity of Officers
The officers for BCES are split into two groups. There are four (4) Executive Officer positions: the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Junior Officers will be appointed each year by the Executive Officers as deemed necessary.

Section B: Qualifications for Office
Any full-time undergraduate who has been an active member of BCES for at least two semesters and attended 51% of the meetings in that academic election year shall be eligible for an Executive position. The term of an Executive position will be two consecutive semesters.

Section C: Duties of the Officers

1. Executive Officers

a. President
The President shall serve as official spokesperson for BCES and as the liaison to both the appropriate dean in ODSD and the club advisor. The President must attend all informational meetings sponsored by ODSD, including the Club Officer’s Orientation in the fall, and represent BCES in such meetings. The President must attend and preside over all meetings, both general and executive. The President shall be responsible for the actions, perceptions, and overall performance of the club. Furthermore, the President will stay in contact with all active members of the club and evaluate the performance of Executive and Junior officers.

b. Vice President
The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President, and take on any or all of the President's duties. The Vice President shall be in charge of organizing, planning, and executing BCES events, in addition to assisting the President in other BCES matters. The Vice President must attend all informational meetings sponsored by ODSD, including the Club Officer's Orientation in the fall, and assist in representing BCES in such meetings.

c. Treasurer
The primary responsibility of the Treasurer is to oversee the budget of BCES and control the allocation of funds. The Treasurer shall inform the Executive Officers as to BCES's spending allowances for the year and current financial status. The Treasurer shall prepare a yearly SOFC budget proposal appropriately by attending the mandatory SOFC meeting in the spring semester, preparing proposal materials as directed, and meeting the submission deadline. The Treasurer shall maintain detailed records of BCES's revenues and expenses and shall provide ODSD with monthly balance printouts based on the appropriate ODSD-provided form. The Treasurer is to have regular contact with the ODSD Budget Manager and shall attend the Treasurer's Training Meeting sponsored by ODSD.

d. Secretary
The Secretary shall be in charge of taking minutes at all of BCES's meetings. He/She shall be responsible for the advertising and publicity of all BCES events and meetings. The Secretary will serve as liaison to BC Cable, and BC Audio/Visual.

2. Junior Officers

The position of a Junior Officer may be established at any time if a need arises. Junior Officers will be created in order to handle any unforeseen responsibilities relating to BCES. All Executive Officers must unanimously agree that there is a need for an additional office. If such a need is recognized, the new position will be made available to active members and applications will be accepted. Junior Officer positions will be determined by a majority vote from the Executive Officers. In the event of a tie, the faculty advisor will cast the deciding vote.

Section D: Vacated Office
If an office is vacated for any reason, the Executive Officers have the options of holding an emergency election to fill the vacated office, or leaving the position vacated until the next scheduled election.

Section E: Impeachment
Impeachment will occur if an elected officer is incompetent, greatly abuses his/her power, and/or inflicts harm or potential harm to BCES. Any member of BCES, including the Executive Committee and the faculty advisor, may file a petition for impeachment against an officer. If this occurs, the Executive Officers, not including the accused, will convene with the faculty advisor to discuss the accusations. The purpose of this meeting is to determine whether the accusations are of any substance. If the Executive Officers and the faculty advisor believe there is merit to the accusations, another special meeting will be held with the Executive Officers, including the accused, and the faculty advisor. At this meeting, the accused will be given the opportunity to defend themselves against the accusations. The Executive Officers, not including the accused, and the faculty advisor, will vote on whether the actions of the accused warrant a probation or an impeachment. A vote by secret ballot will be made by the Executive Officers, not including the accused, and the faculty advisor. However, at this point the Executive Officers and the faculty advisor may dismiss the charges. If the charges are not dismissed, the outcome of the vote will be passed to the general assembly for voting. A special meeting for all active members will be convened by the highest-ranking Executive Officer not in question. At this meeting, the highest-ranking Executive Officer not in question will present the accusations. The accused will be giving the opportunity to defend him/herself against the accusations. Afterwards, a vote will be taken by the active members to decide whether the accused will be acquitted or held responsible. This vote will be taken by secret ballot. A two-thirds majority vote of at least fifty-one percent of all active members must be present to hold the accused responsible. The votes will be counted immediately and the results made public at that meeting. If the accused is put on probation, they will have one month to correct their actions. If the accused is impeached, the officer will immediately be removed, forced to give up any official BCES documents, and will be barred from holding any future BCES office. In this event, depending on the nature of the office, the Executive Officers will conduct an emergency meeting with the appropriate ODSD Dean to discuss the matter. If the accused is acquitted, all charges will be dropped and the proceedings will end.

ARTICLE V: ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS

Section A: Regular Meetings
A regular meeting is one in which BCES Officers and members convene. Regular meetings will be held no less than once a month and no more than once a week, during the academic year.

Section B: Executive Meetings
Executive meetings will be held no less than four times a month, during the academic year.

Section C: Special Meetings
Any BCES Executive Officer or faculty advisor shall have the authority to call emergency meetings.

ARTICLE VI: ELECTIONS

Section A: Eligibility
Any full-time undergraduate member of BCES that has been an active member for at least two semesters and attended 51% of the meetings in that academic election year shall be eligible for an Executive Office.

Section B: Announcements
Elections will be announced to active members during the first general meeting in February. The election shall take place during the first general meeting in March.

Section C: Nominations
Nominations will be made no more than two weeks after elections are announced. Any active member can make nominations for any eligible active member, including oneself. Nominations must be submitted in writing at this time.

Section D: Election Process
The candidates will be announced at the first general meeting in March. At this time, the candidates will give a three to five minute presentation about their qualifications for the position for which they are running. Immediately following the presentations, active members will cast votes by secret ballot. The outgoing members of the Executive Board along with the faculty advisor will count all votes. The top vote holder for each of the four respective offices will be appointed to the new Executive Board.

Section E: Tie-breaking Process
In the event of a tie, an odd number of outgoing officers will cast the deciding vote(s) to break the tie.

Section F: Notification of results
All Executive appointments will be completed that night and the results will be announced to all general members. Following that meeting, a voicemail announcement will be distributed and the BCES web site will also be updated to reflect the election results.

ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES

BCES currently has no standing or ad hoc committees.

ARTICLE VIII: BY-LAWS

1. No officer can hold the same Executive position for more than two consecutive semesters.

2. All Executive Officers shall have authorization to maintain and update the BCES web site. The President shall determine the primary web site manager from the Executive Officers, including him/herself, depending on skill level. If none of the Executive Officers have the necessary technical expertise to manage the web site, a Junior Officer will be appointed to satisfy that responsibility.

ARTICLE IX: METHOD OF AMENDING CONSTITUTION

Section A: Proposal to amend the Constitution
Any active member or officer can present in writing a potential amendment to the BCES Constitution at the designated amendment meeting which takes place once every academic year. This amendment meeting will be announced at the first general meeting in November. The President must receive the proposed amendments in writing by the first meeting of the second semester. This amendment meeting will be held at the second meeting of the second semester. At this meeting, the President and the Vice President shall read all proposed amendments to all active members twice. The readings will take place at the beginning and before the amendments are voted upon. After the first readings, the active members will have five to twenty minutes to discuss the proposed amendments. After the second reading, voting will occur.

Section B: Voting on Amendment
Voting will take place by counting yeas and nays. A two-thirds majority vote and a quorum of two-thirds of all active members present is necessary to ratify an amendment.

Section C: ODSD Approval
Any changes made to the original constitution or by-laws must be approved by ODSD before they can be considered active.

ARTICLE X: RATIFICATION

Section A: When does this constitution go into effect?
This constitution shall be effective after initial ODSD approval and prior to the first meeting of the academic year.

Section B: When will this constitution be revised?
This constitution will be reviewed every year beginning in 1999 and revised whenever deemed necessary by the Executive Board, faculty advisor, or ODSD.

ARTICLE XI: ROLE OF THE FACULTY ADVISOR

The faculty advisor shall assist and advise BCES officers and members. In a meeting separate from general and Executive meetings, the advisor shall meet with the President at least once a month to discuss issues pertinent to BCES, including evaluations of officers. The faculty advisor shall be encouraged, but not required to attend all BCES meetings.